Adolph Bandelier was broke. Although he had received a $1,200 grant to explore the indigenous peoples and wondrous ruins of New Mexico, that money went quickly to travel and supplies. Exasperated, curious and probably a little bitter, Bandelier investigated the disbursements of funds dedicated to archaeology by American institutions. The vast majority of gifts and funds, he found, went to classics, the study of ancient civilizations in Europe. Very little money and very little attention went to scholarship of American antiquities. The United States needed a center for its own archaeology.

In Chicago, the Archaeological Institute of America, almost 20 years old by 1893, was caught in the midst of an economic "panic." They had to broaden their support base to say vital. The institute had funded Bandelier but done little else to study the Americas. In 1901, to remedy that issue, they created a Committee on American Archaeology and soon enrolled such luminaries as Frederic Putnam, Charles P. Bowditch, Franz Boas, Charles Lummis, Jesse Walter Fewkes, Alice Cunningham Fletcher and Edgar Lee Hewett to oversee this new wing. The committee was appointed with the task of further studying the cultures of the Americas, and, of course, attracting more American donors from regions in the West.

Their interest in American antiquities dovetailed perfectly with a greater fascination in natural and cultural resources gripping the United States. Soon, the Antiquities Act would be in place to protect the great cliff cities of the Southwest and, a decade later, the National Park Service would be formed to administer and steward such treasures into the future. Following a horseback trip from Santa Fe to Chiapas, Mexico, Hewett reasoned that the time was right to found a school of American archaeology and that Santa Fe was the place to do it.

Under the guidance of Alice Fletcher, the Archaeological Institute met in 1907 to discuss such a school. And, despite vehement opposition from some members, a decision was made. A School of American Archaeology would open in Santa Fe.

Hewett, a former president at New Mexico Normal University (now New Mexico Highlands) and well-regarded archaeologist, took over leadership of the new school. Fortunately, Hewett had supporters in Santa Fe and his plans to assume control of the Palace of the Governors were confirmed by the territorial government. Better yet, territorial Gov. Nathan Jaffa also created a Museum for the Territory of New Mexico and tied that organization to Hewett's school, making Hewett president. Within a year, Hewett was planning and guiding field schools from Santa Fe to what is now Bandelier National Monument and other sites in the region.

Hewett, however, was not yet satisfied. He expanded the field schools to other parts of the Southwest. He established a museum at the old Palace. Hewett also planned and presented lectures across the country. In 1915, he took his showmanship to another level as he helped organize displays on Southwestern and Latin American archaeology for the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego. Now, Hewett had an international audience.

Back in Santa Fe, the School of American Archaeology, which Hewett had now dubbed the School of American Research, took an active role in the arts community. Hewett himself encouraged the work of a potter from San Ildefonso Pueblo and her husband. Maria and Julian Martinez had previously joined him on a dig by the Puyé Cliff Dwellings, and, recognizing their talents, Hewett had pushed the couple to try to re-create the types of pots they found on their digs. Combined with input from local shops, Martinez's distinctive black-on-black was born.

In his interest in Pueblo art, Hewett had company. In 1922, the school organized a Southwest Indian Fair. Others in Santa Fe organized the Indian Arts Fund, and even John D. Rockefeller Jr. visited Santa Fe in the hopes of donating money to the preservation of such art. The Arts Fund collection and Rockefeller's support soon became the basis for the Laboratory of Anthropology.

Yet another educational institution showed interest in archaeology, and in 1927 Hewett chaired the new Departments of Anthropology and Archaeology at The University of New Mexico. Hewett delighted in the partnership, throwing himself fully into the new departments and arranging ambitious field schools for his students.

Until his death in 1946, Hewett remained ambitious in his leadership and work. His projects extended well beyond the Southwest into Central and Latin America.

Always in search of more involvement and exposure, Hewett would have been pleased to see that just a year after his passing, the Laboratory of Anthropology and the Museum of New Mexico merged. And, while the director of the school had since 1909 assumed the unpaid role of museum director, the Laboratory of Anthropology did not directly join the school. All the same, the most important archaeological institutions in New Mexico were nearly consolidated, for a time.

Just over a decade later, the New Mexico attorney general struck down this archaeological powerhouse as unconstitutional, breaking it up into the school and museum. The school found further independence in 1970 as it severed its ties to the Archaeological Institute of America and shortly thereafter relocated to its current location at an estate formerly owned by the White sisters, arts patrons and activists.

Now known as the School for Advanced Research, the educational facility celebrated its centennial in 2007 and presently hosts a wide array of think-tank activities far surpassing even the broad programs implemented by Hewett. Among its offerings, the school counts residencies for visiting scholars, member field trips and a scholarly press.

Jason Strykowski is a Ph.D. candidate at The University of New Mexico.